Association between prior cancer diagnosis and osteoporosis: a matched case–control study

Epidemiological studies show an inconsistent association between cancer and osteoporosis. In this nationally representative population-based study, we found that a prior cancer diagnosis was not associated with osteoporosis. This finding may primarily apply to cancer survivors seen many years after their cancer diagnosis.

Epidemiological studies show an inconsistent association between cancer and osteoporosis. We examined the association between a prior cancer diagnosis and osteoporosis in population-based data.

We performed an age- and sex-matched case–control study (1:2 matching ratio) using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2011–2018. Cases were determined by self-reported prior diagnosis of cancer; all controls were free of cancer at the time of bone density measurement with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. We defined osteoporosis as a T-score ≤  − 2.5 at femoral neck, total hip, or lumbar spine. Unconditional multivariable logistic regression was used to test the association between a prior cancer diagnosis and osteoporosis.

We identified 246 prior cancer cases and 492 controls (mean age: 65.8 years) in females, and 243 prior cancer cases and 486 controls (mean age: 68.0 years) in males. The most common types of cancer in females and males were breast cancer and prostate cancer, respectively. Osteoporosis prevalences were comparable between cases and controls among females (19.1% in cases vs. 18.7% in controls; P = 0.894) and males (5.8% in cases vs. 6.8% in controls; P = 0.594). After adjusting for covariates, a prior cancer diagnosis was not associated with osteoporosis in females (odds ratio [OR]: 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.54–1.29) or males (OR: 1.09; 95% CI: 0.51–2.30). Results were unaffected by cancer severity, cancer type, or time since cancer diagnosis.

A prior cancer diagnosis was not associated with osteoporosis in this nationally representative population.